Up Where We Belong
by Andrina
Summary: On a hot summer night, when memories unfold, and Ranma finally gets an inside look on the woman who was Akane's mother, plus how deep family ties really run. One shot, RanmaxAkane, R&R!


Have a Happy Valentine's!

**Up Where We Belong  
By Andrina**

The paper door of the room slid open noiselessly and a figure slipped out without a sound, masking itself in the long shadows cast in the corridor. It turned and closed the door, careful not to awake the slumbering of the sole occupant inside.

It was dark and silent, the way one would expect 3 a.m. in the morning to be like in the Tendo household. The air was surprisingly crisp for a summer night, Ranma noted, expertly making his way down the corridor. He could faintly make out the barely audible song of the crickets from outside the house and it didn't take much for him to pick up on the hushed 'tick-tock' of the clock on the wall.

Not a stir.

He passed Kasumi's room and was glad to note that there was no sound from inside. Nabiki's room was similarly dark and silent, and Ranma walked past, satisfied that no one knew he wasn't up.

Actually, he himself was puzzled that insomnia had chosen tonight, of all nights, to strike. He never ever missed a night of sleep unless he couldn't help it. But tonight, Ranma had tossed and turned for most of the night before deciding that maybe some fresh air could help him.

And he was pissed. Sleep was one of the most sacred things in his eyes. And he _never_ suffered from insomnia unless something was bothering him, like if his dad decided squashing his only son was a favourite hobby. But no matter how hard he tried to think of it, he just couldn't find out what the matter was. So he just prayed hard that the problem would go off by itself.

Then he passed by Akane's room. Unconsciously, Ranma stopped.

Just to check, he told himself. You know… in case someone tried to kidnap her or the stupid tomboy herself accidentally fell off her bed or something.

Or in case P-chan was making yet another visit to his mistress's bed. Ranma's grip on the doorknob tightened without him knowing. Of course, there was the slight risk of Akane malleting him off to some distant faraway land if she ever found out he looked into her room at 3 in the morning, while she was fast asleep, no less.

The door opened noiselessly. Ah… thank goodness Kasumi took pride in keeping all the doors in the house well oiled. Ranma stuck his head in quietly and fixed his eyes onto the bed, expecting to see Akane dozing deeply, her head resting slightly on her pillow as she…

Nothing.

He blinked in confusion. Where did Akane go? He check the floor, even, but there was nobody there. Heck, he was getting a little worried here…

Ranma sighed to himself. Actually, he wasn't just a _little_ worried. There was no telling what could have happened to Akane with the sort of chaos that came to Nerima. She could have been kidnapped, attacked, drugged, injured, hypnotized…

Or maybe she just got up to go get a drink.

He decided that the last option was the most likely and not to mention to least worrying. So, without hesitating, Ranma trooped down the stairs, easily skipping that squeaky sixth step and moving on.

Once on the first floor, he took off in the direction of the kitchen. But instead of finding Akane in there alone, he found someone else too.

Kasumi.

He had just skidded to a stop in the kitchen when he saw Kasumi sitting quietly in a wooden chair in the kitchen, dressed in a long pale pink nightgown with her hair let loose behind her. She looked up at the arrival of Ranma, mild surprise registering in her eyes before warmth enveloped it and she smiled demurely at him. "Good," her eyes flickered to the clock hanging on the wall. "Morning, Ranma," she finished sweetly, her face illuminated by a rosy orange glow from a small table lamb nearby.

He was surprised to say the least. But what was more astonishing was that in the chair beside her was a slender figure clad in familiar pajamas, resting against her. For a second there, he couldn't recognize the person, until with a start, he linked the short dark hair with the girl he had been looking for.

"A…Akane?" he asked quietly, bewildered.

He never realized that she could look so… well, small and vulnerable, when she was asleep. Sure, he had seen her sleeping before, but the way she was depending on Kasumi for support as she dozed only seemed to reinforce it.

"Why are you guys…"

Kasumi smiled softly at him and pointed wordlessly at a photograph frame resting on the smooth surface of the kitchen counter. Ranma glanced at it and recognized the smiling face as the one of the deceased Tendo matriarch. "Oh," he mumbled in understanding.

Kasumi's face melted into a tender smile and Ranma realized with a start, that though Kasumi smiled sweetly, albeit vapidly, at them everyday, she had never really had a specific meaning behind them. But this smile was special. It was almost uncharacteristically tender and soft as it was directed at Akane, and Ranma had the distinct sensation that Kasumi knew something he didn't.

"Akane had a dream about our dear mother," she told him vaguely, one slender hand coming up to stroke her youngest sister's bangs away from her face. "Do you dream about your mother, Ranma?"

He shifted uncomfortably, when another voice broke in. "Well, hello, Ranma."

He started and turned around to see Nabiki smirking at him. She pushed herself away from the doorframe and walked towards her sisters, plonking herself into a chair next to Kasumi. "Nice of you to join our sisterly chat, isn't it?" she quipped, a brow arching. "What were you doing at 3 in the morning anyway?"

Ranma shrugged and molded himself to the cool wall of the kitchen. "Couldn't sleep. And you guys?" he tried casually.

Nabiki's calculating look faded for a few seconds and Ranma felt his jaw slacken slightly as she turned a smile onto her two sisters. He knew that smile. Of course he knew it. He even used to dream about it.

That was Akane's smile.

And that was when he realized that despite the stark differences in personalities among the three sisters, they all shared the same smile that they got from their mother. The one that came out when they were honestly happy and contented, the one that made them each so beautiful in their own way. Not Kasumi's vacant pleasant beam, not Nabiki's cold I-know-something-you-don't smirk, and not Akane's awkward I'm-smiling-to-please-you smile.

And that smile, that special beautiful smile, especially when she directed it towards him, was what drove him to want to protect Akane. He never wanted that smile to fade; never wanted it to disappear.

"Kasumi told you. Akane had a dream about Mum."

Kasumi shook her head. "You see, Ranma," she began pleasantly in explanation. "We told each other if anyone of us missed Mother at night, we'd find the others." Her eyes shadowed slightly, but she continued. "Of course, that was a long time ago."

_"Kasumi… I want Mama…" the youngest one clung to her sister tearfully. "I want Mama…"_

_"Mama's gone. She's not coming back," the middle-child spoke flatly to her sister. "Don't be stupid."_

_"Nabiki…" The seven-year-old Kasumi said reproachfully, mimicking her mother, even as Akane's wails intensified. Mother said she had to take care of her sisters, because she was the oldest and the biggest, and she was Mother's girl and because…_

_The one named Nabiki sat up in bed, clad in soft blue pajamas. "What?" she retorted angrily, for once defying her sister. "I'm right."_

_But Kasumi saw. She saw Nabiki's tears that streaked down her face, and even with the mind of a mere child, she knew that Nabiki missed their Mummy too. And leading the sobbing Akane to the bed that all shared, she heaved the child, grimacing and grunting with the exhaustion of it. Thankfully Akane got the hint and crawled into bed herself, automatically moving towards Nabiki for warmth._

_And Kasumi pulled up the covers over her two sisters, with Nabiki nearest the wall, Akane in the middle and herself at the edge. Like Mother had always done, she told herself quietly. But Mama wasn't here anymore. She was the Mama now, and her sisters were her babies. _

_"Listen to me," she whispered in a hushed voice to her sisters, and in the darkness, Akane sniffed and curled her fists tightly in Nabiki's shirt unconsciously while her sister touched her hair lightly. "Even if Mama's gone, we'll remember her. If you ever want her at night, we'll find each other and talk, ok? 'Cause we can talk about Mama, and we'll remember…"_

_And they talked for a while. Kasumi said she missed Mama's pancakes. Akane whimpered that she wanted Mama to hold her. Nabiki just said she wished she could just **see** Mama again. _

_But it was getting late, and Kasumi could see that both Nabiki and Akane were getting tired. She was tired too, she told herself. So, ending the conversation, Kasumi tucked them in properly and tried to sleep. But minutes later, she could hear fidgeting. Nabiki turning in bed. Akane playing with her fingers. Herself twisting the bed sheets in her hands. Something was missing here, she thought. Now, if she were Mother, what would Mother do?_

_Of course. Mama would sing to them. Mama liked singing, and she sang this song in another language to them sometimes. It was really pretty, Kasumi thought, even though she didn't understand it. She heard it over the radio once, though. Mama did too. That was how she learnt the song in the first place._

_And she was the Mama now, wasn't she? So she would sing, like Mama did._

_And little Kasumi opened her mouth and struggled to remember. "Love lift us up where we belong…" she ventured softly, feeling Akane relax beside her. "Where the eagles cry… on a mountain high…"_

_Love lift us up where we belong, far from the world we know, where the clear winds blow. She heard Nabiki mouthing the words silently… and soon Akane began mumbling the bits and pieces that she remembered._

_And not long after everyone fell asleep._

_The lyrics may have been wrong. The tune may have been mixed up. But it was the most beautiful song they knew._

Nabiki blinked. "And Akane just dreamt of Mum out of the blue," she said calmly, reliving the events in her mind.

"Oh." That was the only thing he could come up with. Ranma didn't know what to say … he felt so out of place, alone in the kitchen with the three sisters. Maybe he should retreat to the Koi pond if he wanted some fresh air.

Then Akane mumbled something in her sleep, stirring slightly. Kasumi blinked and smiled, shifting to better support the sleeping girl. Akane continued talking incomprehensibly in her sleep, much to the amusement of Nabiki. And even better when after a few minutes, they could make out words in English.

"Love lifts us up…where we… belong…"

Nabiki's eyebrow arched in a mix of amusement and uncharacteristic tenderness. "How cute," she commented. "Our baby sister sings when she sleeps." She turned to Ranma. "You know, our mother used to sing that." Kasumi smiled, another one of those strange smiles, and Ranma shifted uncomfortably.

"Akane's all grown up now, isn't she, Ranma?"

Huh? He glanced up at Kasumi, who seemed to be shaking her head at something she only knew.

"She's all grown up, but she's still a little girl."

What? Now Ranma was seriously confused. Did Kasumi have an overdose of aspirin or something?

"Nabiki was always a mature one. Smart and mature, even when young."

And sneaky too, Ranma added. Smart but sneaky.

"You flatter me, Sis," came Nabiki's flat voice with a tint of glee in it.

Kasumi giggled, but sobered. "Now Akane was just a baby then… and we tried to keep her as a child… then we tried to make her grow up… but it went a bit wrong I suppose…"

Ranma blinked. Kasumi was contradicting herself. "Say what?" he tried, realizing he sounded a little stupid.

"Ranma, Ranma, Ranma…" Nabiki made a clucking sound. "Just listen, will you?"

Kasumi nodded. "What I want to say is that you made our Akane grow up."

"I didn't do no such thing," he objected, shaking his head. "Did nothing to the tomboy."

Nabiki chuckled, a low sound. "You're such a naïve one, Ranma," she teased lightly, making him flush slightly. "Akane has grown up, in more ways than one, of course," she added, watching him squirm. "Don't you think?"

"Erm…" he was lost. _He_ made Akane grow up? Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

"Well, Ranma, it's getting late," Kasumi cut in suddenly. "Will you help me put Akane to bed?"

He protested weakly for a while, but Nabiki waved him away carelessly. As Kasumi got up carefully from the seat, she pointed to Akane still slumbering. "She's all yours, Ranma. Be careful with her."

He didn't miss the hint of steel in her voice, even as Kasumi nodded him goodnight tiredly and steered the shorter girl out of the kitchen. Didn't miss the way they looked carefully over their sibling. Didn't miss the tender, almost wistful look on Kasumi's face.

And then they walked up the stairs silently, whispering to each other in soft hushed voices. And Ranma watched them; until they disappeared around the corner and their voices became nothing more then slight muffled murmurs in the night. As though he was in a trance, the pigtailed boy grabbed a glass and filled it with cold water, unthinkingly gulping it down.

He didn't understand what they were going on about. He didn't get it. The two older Tendo girls had been dropping so many hints and so many unspoken words that it was giving him a headache. What he would do just to have some peace alone to ponder and think and…

Oh yeah. He still had Akane to put to bed.

As his gaze settled on the young girl still mumbling in her sleep, he felt an odd goofy grin come over his face. Wouldn't it be amusing to tell her that he heard her singing in her sleep and see her horrified expression?

Of course, he was pretty sure Nabiki would skin him first for making fun of a song like that. Too sacred, he knew, and sensibly dismissed the idea.

"Love lifts us up… where we belong…"

There she went again. Ranma sighed to himself. That song was getting stuck in _his_ head now, even though the tune seemed to be continuously changing. He snorted. Best get on withit.Careful not to wake her, he stepped nimbly to the side of the chair and picked her up. She mumbled something, and continued her singing.

She was light, he thought absent-mindedly. Of course she was light. He'd carried her before, held her in his arms before. Nothing new, he told himself. But it still wouldn't stop reinforcing the fact that she was light, she was small, she was vulnerable, yet she was strong, she was beautiful, she was…

Ranma blinked and made a face. What in the world was he _doing_??

_Gods, I'm going insane._

He carried her up the stairs, down the corridor, into her room, finally setting her down lightly on her own bed. The lights to Kasumi and Nabiki's rooms were off, and even down the hall he could hear his father snoring.

And Akane was _still_ singing.

With a small wistful smile, Ranma covered her lightly with her blankets, watching as she shifted in the darkness drowsily. Stupid tomboy, he mumbled mentally. Always getting into trouble. Always needing him to help her out. Always screwing up in the kitchen. Always pounding him. Always…

Aw… who was he kidding? He wouldn't exchange her for the world. She might be uncute, and sexless, and hopeless in the kitchen, but she was still Akane and he, well, he sort of liked her a little bit. Mind you, just a little bit. She had a nice smile after all, and when she wasn't trying to force him to eat her cooking, she wasn't really that bad.

Maybe he didn't like her just a bit. Maybe he liked her a little more than that.

Okay. Maybe he liked her a lot.

Ranma blew out a breath of air. Here he was, talking to himself while kneeling by his sleeping fiancée's bed while she mumbled out parts of some weird song. Any moment now, Happosai would rush in claiming he had just joined a monastery and was prepared to remain celibate for the rest of his measly life.

"Uncute…" he whispered in the darkness, a hand coming up hesitantly to brush some hair away from Akane's face. She had a rather decent voice, Ranma noticed absently. The tune of her song was sticking, and he found himself beginning to hum along with her, his large calloused hand still gently dancing across her face and bangs lightly…

And then her eyes fluttered open sleepily.

That was when Ranma knew he was going to _die_ right there and then.

-

Her Mama was here again.

And she watched with a child's point of view as her mother's face loomed in view lovingly, the features blurry yet sharp in her memory. She heard the voice singing softly, not very accurate, nor particularly outstanding, but still beautiful in her mind. She heard the strange words of another language flowing soothingly over her, coaxing her to sleep, promising her of childish delights if she slept.

She could almost feel the older woman's hand tenderly stroking her face, affectionately smiling down at her in the way only a mother could. How the voice differed, she noted somewhere in the back of her mind, from the girlish high voice of seven years old Kasumi. Her Mama's voice was soothing, and womanly and absolutely beautiful…

But even as she listened to her Mama sing, she felt the orange glow of her night-light disappear, replaced by darkness. Her mother's facial features blurred and she was struck with a sense of loss. The words grew muffled, eventually fading into a mere hum, and the hand became coarser, larger. And then the features sharpened, and the hand withdrew, much to her disappointment, and her Mama sprouted a braid…

Akane's eyes widened. A braid??

"Ranma…?" she heard herself asking, her voice rusty. "Ranma, is that you?"

She could see him cringe slightly in the darkness. "Uh… yeah. Go back to sleep, Akane. I ain't doing nothing…" he blurted out and she allowed herself to sink back into bed sleepily. Just a dream… wasn't it? She just dreamt of her Mama, that was all… Ranma was right. Sleep sounded heavenly right now…

Ranma released a relieved sigh as he saw Akane's eyes close groggily. Thank goodness she was too sleepy to do anything else. If she hadn't been so tired, he was sure she would have booted him right of her window and straight into the Koi pond without a second thought. He spared her one last look and prepared to leave her room.

"Ranma?" her voice was soft and fuzzy as she snuggled into her pillow. "Did you sing?"

He froze. She'd heard him? Oh gods, the humiliation…

"Yeah," he muttered, feeling more than just a little embarrassed. "Go back to sleep."

One couldn't blame him for nearly having a heart attack when Akane reached out and grabbed hold of his hand.

"You sound good…" she mumbled, half asleep. "Sing some more."

Ranma turned a shade that would have made tomatoes feel proud. Hesitantly, he sat down beside her bed, convinced that she was going to come to her senses any moment and attempt to kill him.

But she didn't. She just lay there silently, her hands curling around her blankets and pillow.

And he began to hum. Softly at first, then more boldly. Akane slept on contentedly, lulled to sleep by the familiar tune.

He hummed to the point where he himself got sick of the song. But by then, as Ranma snuck a quick glance at Akane, his fiancée was already fast asleep, her breathing even and deep, and a soft warm smile on her face.

All was safe, he decided. He was alive, and Akane was asleep. Everything was going to be okay. He got up carefully, wanting to leave…

…when he realized he was Akane was still holding his hand.

Feeling oddly intrigued, Ranma lifted his arm slowly, observing how Akane's slim fingers were linked with his, and how her arm followed wherever his went.

And he decided he liked it a lot.

But he still needed his sleep. And reluctantly, Ranma began to untangle her fingers from his. Yet, before he even reached the mid-point of his mission, he was alarmed to see Akane's face scrunching up slightly in her sleep.

The last thing he wanted was for her to wake up again. Ranma stifled a yawn. But he really wanted to go back to sleep now…

So… if you can't beat them…

Join them.

He nudged her aside gently with his free hand and crawled in into the bed, pleasantly surprised to note that the bed was already warm with her body heat. As he turned over, Ranma noticed that her pillow smelt like Akane…

He chuckled suddenly. "Goodnight, tomboy," he muttered into the darkness. She didn't stir, but he smiled all the same.

And for the first time that night, Ranma fell asleep.

-

_Love lift us up where we belong, where the eagles cry,_

_On a mountain high._

_Love lift us up where we belong, far from the world we know, _

_Where the clear winds blow…_

-

Comments are greatly appreciated!

**_Edited 07/12/04_**


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